Job security at all costs

APS educators criticize reassignment process | ajc.com
Some of the estimated 700 educators who must reapply for jobs following a massive redistricting and restructuring say Atlanta Public Schools is making a mess of the restaffing process, and unfairly leaving veteran educators vulnerable.

Looked at another way: APS teachers expect and demand a level of job security unheard of in any other industry.

The Atlanta Federation of Teachers wants teachers and staff affected by school closings to be given first priority for job openings throughout the district. The group believes teachers should be allowed to name their top three choices, and that performance and seniority should be used in determining new job placements.

The Atlanta Federation of Teachers is a union, so of course they would say that.

A school scheduled to close because it's running at half capacity is doing so because every student who can go somewhere else is going somewhere else. There might be a reason for that. APS wants to be sure they're not rehiring the reason. This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Now, given APS' history of heavily politically influenced hiring and promotion practices, I can understand why teachers might be skeptical that APS is actually, sincerely, honestly looking to rehire the good teachers. But I'm not prepared to assume that the teachers in failing schools are completely blameless and deserve priority in re-hiring.

Vanessa Cox lives across from Woodson Elementary, which under the redistricting will split with Grove Park Elementary so each school has three grades. As a result, teachers at both schools must reapply for their jobs.
Cox, who has children and grandchildren attending APS schools, feels it’s wrong to displace teachers, especially those who have been on the job for decades.

Well, if a second-grade teacher follows her kids to another building, is that "displacing" her? Shouldn't that be described as keeping her job?

Again, given APS' history of heavily politically influenced hiring and promotion practices, it is equally wrong to assume that teachers "who have been on the job for decades" are any good at what they do. Nothing personal, Ms Cox, but teachers don't work for Woodson Elementary, they work for APS. If they are any good, they're needed, and they'll have a job in the fall.

Or am I being unrealistically optimistic?